Global goals for university boss

A NEW vice-chancellor is at the helm of The University of Western Sydney and he will not rest on his laurels in the institution's 25th year.

Barney Glover replaced Professor Janice Reid, who retired on January 2 after 16 years as vice-chancellor.

Professor Glover hopes to lift the international profile of the university while continuing to serve its 40,000 students, most from greater western Sydney.

"No university stays static," he said. "Under Professor Reid's leadership it has moved to become one university with a very strong commitment to its region [and] developed strong areas of research capability.

"The next phase in my view is to be part of this globalisation of higher education.

"We want to increase international students numbers across the campuses, to increase the research links to our partner institutions internationally and encourage more western Sydney students to have an international experience."

Professor Glover has been vice-chancellor at Charles Darwin University in the Northern Territory.

"Western Sydney has a large indigenous community and I think the university should provide their pathways to higher eduction," he said.

"That's true in the Northern Territory too, so there are similarities but also some differences and I think that's what makes the Australian higher education system fabulous."